Jill Martin revealed her breast cancer diagnosis on Today.Photo:Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
TheTodayshow’sJill Martinrevealed Monday that shehad been diagnosedwithbreast cancer, just one week after she tested positive for theBRCA gene.
And the carrier of the gene — which is linked to a significantly higher possibility of developing breast or ovarian cancer — wasn’t her mother, but her fatherMarty, a retired criminal defense attorney.
Martin, 47, tells PEOPLE her doctor suggested she get genetic testing for the gene during a series of aftercare appointments followingfibroid surgery.
“We were just going over all the tests and she said, ‘Did your mother take the test?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, she’s negative…And so that was sort of a check-off-my-list part of this.”
“And then she said, ‘Did your dad take it?’ And I didn’t really know about the gene in relation to men,” Martin tells PEOPLE. “I’ve heard of men getting breast cancer, but I didn’t know that was as prevalent as it is, I didn’t know that was something that needed to be screened for.”
Jill Martin poses with father Marty.Jill Martin/Instagram
Jill Martin/Instagram
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“I said, ‘Oh, breast cancer doesn’t run in his family.’ She said, ‘I’d like you to do the genetic test anyway.’”
Martin ordered an at-home genetic test, which she said was relatively easy.
“I spit into this tube and I mailed it in and honestly I forgot about it, and three weeks later I got a call saying, ‘You tested positive,'” she recalls.
Martin said the news was a shock, as she hada clear mammogramjust this year.
“I had a mammogram in January and it was perfect!” she says.
After testing positive for the gene, Martin made the difficult decision to get a preventive bilateral mastectomy.
“I immediately went into producer mode — that’s the only mode I know. I got the names of doctors. I set up appointments,” she says. “I said to myhusband, [Erik Brooks], ‘This isn’t going to be the summer we thought it was going to be, but thank goodness that we caught it.’ I actually felt lucky.”
But during a routine preoperative MRI, doctors discovered that Martin had already developed cancer.
“I went in and I remember she said, ‘It’s cancer,’ and I remember saying, ‘Is it treatable?’ And she said, ‘Yes, yes, you’re going to be okay,'” Martin recalls. “I’m not telling you I don’t break down and cry at some points, but I still felt — still feel — lucky.”
Martinshared the news of her diagnosis on theTodayshow Monday morning, andin an essay on Today.com. She’ll begin a leave of absence effective immediately to undergo a bilateral mastectomy and begin additional treatment.
And while Martin says, “I don’t want this to be a pity party,” she says the reason she revealed her diagnosis was to urge others to take the genetic test. “Be proactive,” she says. “The technology is where it is. Use it.”
source: people.com
